cityscape
This Toronto Street Art is Pointing Fingers
Every time you point a finger there are three pointing back at you
| BY: | Unknown | ||
| LOCATION: | The Beach | ||
| PHOTO BY: | Michael Ishlove | ||
| FIELD NOTES: | While deciding what to write about this lovely graffiti piece, I came across a variation of a classic finger-pointing quote: “When you point your finger at someone, anyone, it is often a moment of judgment. We point our fingers when we want to scold someone, point out what they have done wrong. But each time we point, we simultaneously point three fingers back at ourselves.” It’s by my tween literary hero, Christopher Pike, from his (once epic to me) Last Vampire series. It’s not often I think of Pike, a.k.a. the man who taught me to be terrified of everything (in a good way), and I’ve certainly never considered incorporating him into Vandalist, but I cannot resist the opportunity that has presented itself. To tie it all in, though the character in this graffiti is not directly pointing at anyone or itself, that finger does seem to be wagging and scolding, perhaps judging the City for its treatment of graffiti artists or its poor track record of supporting arts communities. By doing so, the three remaining fingers speak volumes. It’s as though the artist is judging him or herself for perpetuating the hi-jinks that lead to such treatment and is giving him or herself a meta wrist-slapping for creating the work in the first place. |
Once a week, Vandalist features some of the most interesting street art and graffiti from around Toronto. Find something great? Email [email protected].